Before Dr. Abdisalam Adam was anything else, he was one of the first Somali-Americans in Minnesota to lead a public charter school, at a moment when almost no one in that role looked like the students walking through the door. That was just the start. He went on to serve as Executive Director of Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Civic Center, and over three decades built a reputation as one of the Twin Cities’ central voices on interfaith and intercultural understanding, fluent in Somali, Arabic, and English, and equally at home speaking to a classroom, a school board, or a room of faith leaders from traditions other than his own.
His work sits on boards like the St. Paul Interfaith Network, where the job is less about representing one community and more about getting several to actually talk to each other. Through decades at St. Paul Public Schools and the public service that’s followed, he’s mentored generations of young people and pushed, consistently, for justice and dignity for the communities least likely to get either by default.
Dr. Adam's work has always required fluency in more than languages, moving between classrooms, boardrooms, and interfaith gatherings without losing credibility in any of them. What that's built into:
- Project management
- Community outreach
- Grant writing and fundraising
- Strategic planning
- Policy advocacy
Recognition here spans both the classroom and the community:
- Interfaith Leadership Award — St. Paul Interfaith Network
- Educator of the Year — Somali Education Fund
- Cited in MNHS MNopedia (2017): MNopedia Entry – Dar Al-Hijrah
His work has been documented and featured:
- Presentation: “Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque: Home of Migration” — Augsburg Digi-Tours
- Media Feature: MPR News, “Mosque Rebuild After Fire” (2014)
Where This Work Has Traveled
From a Minnesota classroom to interfaith rooms across the Twin Cities.
Dr. Adam’s work bridging Minnesota’s schools, interfaith communities, and civic institutions has been documented by MNHS, Augsburg University, and MPR News, and recognized with awards from the St. Paul Interfaith Network and the Somali Education Fund. Want to see how far it’s gone?
